Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.6875.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group set a $33.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 77,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 7,119 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 120.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 5.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 948,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,743,000 after acquiring an additional 50,035 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Warner Music Group by 528.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Warner Music Group by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,226,000 after purchasing an additional 6,989 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $29.05 on Friday. Warner Music Group has a one year low of $25.56 and a one year high of $36.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.09, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 4.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 108.57%.

Key Headlines Impacting Warner Music Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Music Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and streaming strength — Q1 revenue rose ~10% to about $1.84B, driven by recorded music, streaming and artist services; the top-line beat consensus and underpins confidence in growth. Warner Music Quarterly Revenue Rises 10% on Recorded Music & Streaming Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Management sees upside from AI and new revenue patterns — CEO Robert Kyncl told Bloomberg Tech that AI-related opportunities and expanded rights/licensing should boost future monetization. Warner Music Group Sees Double-Digit Revenue Growth in 1Q
• Positive Sentiment: Capital deployment and partnerships — WMG expanded its investment JV with Bain Capital and signaled more catalogue acquisitions, supporting longer‑term royalty growth and diversified revenue. Warner Music & Bain Capital expand investment JV as major reports ‘strong start’ to 2026 With revenues up 10%, WMG is planning more catalogue buys
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend announced — WMG declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19/share (yield ~2.6%), which can support investor sentiment and income-focused buyers.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst backdrop — Multiple buy/overweight ratings and a median price target near $38 provide upside guidance, but the market will watch execution vs. targets. Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) Stock Rises on Q1 2026 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: EPS and profitability pressures — EPS missed estimates ($0.33 vs. ~$0.40 consensus) and diluted EPS declined year‑over‑year; net income fell, which weighs on near‑term earnings momentum. Compared to Estimates, Warner Music Group (WMG) Q1 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Weaker cash flow & balance‑sheet items — operating cash declined year‑over‑year and liabilities rose, factors investors may view as risk if cash conversion and leverage don’t improve. Warner Music Group posts mixed Q1 results, shares fall 4%

Warner Music Group Company Profile

Warner Music Group is a major global music company that operates across recorded music and music publishing. Its recorded-music business comprises a portfolio of well-known labels—including Atlantic, Warner Records and Parlophone—as well as distribution and artist-services operations that support both established and emerging artists. The company’s publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, manages songwriting catalogs and administers rights for compositions across multiple media, providing licensing for film, television, advertising and other commercial uses.

WMG’s activities span the full music value chain: signing and developing artists, producing and marketing recordings, distributing music through physical channels and streaming platforms, and monetizing rights through licensing, synchronization and neighboring-rights collection.